Kotak backs veteran all

India's preparations for the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2027 start taking shape with the upcoming ODI series against West Indies, through which the side will look to figure out their strongest possible squad going into the tournament.

Despite South Africa being famous for pace and bounce, a steady tweaker in the line-up has the capacity of making a difference, as the left-arm spin of Keshav Maharaj and Bjorn Fortuin proved against Australia recently in Durban.

In Ravindra Jadeja, returning to the format for the first time since January, India have their own wily left-arm spinner capable of controlling the scoring rate, while also outfoxing the batters.

And India's batting coach Sitanshu Kotak reckons that the veteran left-arm spinner can play a crucial role for India in the Cricket World Cup.

Ravindra Jadeja casts spell around West Indies | CT13

"I think he is obviously in the mix," Kotak told reporters ahead of the first ODI against West Indies. "I am not part of the selection committee, so I don't know what their thinking is. I just think whoever is coming and playing for India, they are obviously part of the 20-25 players who possibly can be in the team [for the Cricket World Cup]."

Boosting Jadeja's prospects is his excellence in the field, and capability with the bat.

"Jadeja is an outstanding all-rounder. We all know. You see his records. How the team will be set up and what kind of combination selectors and captain and head coach will go with is secondary. And there is time for that. But Jadeja, to me, is one of the best fielders we still have on a world level.

"He bowls, he bats and the experience he has, and I actually firmly believe that experience is something you cannot beat. So like we see Rohit [Sharma], we see Virat [Kohli], we see Jadeja. And that brings a lot to the team. Jadeja is obviously a very useful member of the team."

India ODI skipper Shubman Gill had earlier copped a blow in the nets, but his availablity was confirmed by Kotak, who said that the batter was "Good to go."

This means that Yashasvi Jaiswal also a part of the squad, might have to sit out. The left-handed batter scored a century in his last ODI outing against Afghanistan, but hasn't featured in an ODI since.

To Kotak, with the experience of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli already filling up the top-order, Jaiswal's wait was a part-and-parcel of competitive sport.

"I think there is so much competition and so many players are performing. Jaiswal is one of the best and whenever he gets an opportunity, he performs. So he is part of the team. But sometimes you see, say there are three very good wicketkeepers in a team; only one will play.

"So it is not that somebody has been unfair to him [Jaiswal]. I just think it is part of the game. He should keep working hard and wait for his opportunity. And so far, whenever the team needed him, he has performed.

"But I think we do look after his skills and his practice. We follow up on where he is, how he is doing and when he is with the team. That's all we can do and that's what we do."

1st ODI - 27 September, Thiruvananthapuram

2nd ODI - 30 September, Guwahati

3rd ODI - 3 October, New Chandigarh

4th T20I - 14 October, Hyderabad

5th T20I - 17 October, Bengaluru